The present invention relates to an inside roof lining for a vehicle segmental roof, which lining is arranged on the underside facing the vehicle interior, of a vehicle segmented roof having at least two adjacent segments which are moveable in a roof opening between a closed position and an open position, and which is acted upon with force by a tensioning element.
DE 197 20 000 Cl discloses a sliding roof for a motor vehicle consisting of a plurality of segments. The segments are arranged one behind another in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and are displaceable and can be hooked out obliquely. On the underside, facing the vehicle interior, the segments have a foldable inside roof lining which is placed under tension in the closed position of the vehicle roof, but in the open position of the vehicle roof, with the segments moved out obliquely, is folded up because the pivot axes of the segments have moved closer together.
According to DE 197 20 000 Cl, the inside roof lining is a rolling screen which can be rolled up and is acted upon with a tensioning force via a spring-loaded roller. In the open position of the roof, the inside roof lining is wound onto the roller, as a result of which the formation of folds is prevented and a permanent tensioning of the fabric is ensured.
The inside roof lining as a rolling screen which can be wound up requires a spring-loaded roller which requires additional installation space and also has to be maintained in order to ensure the operativeness even over long periods. Moreover, when a roller is used, the choice of type of fabric for the inside roof lining is restricted, since the winding onto the roller is possible only with comparatively thin-walled types of fabric, whereas thicker and/or softer fabrics are preferred for visual and aesthetic reasons and also for strength reasons.
If, on the other hand, a tensioning element loading the inside roof lining is omitted, there is the risk that when the segmental roof is opened, the inside roof lining comes into contact, through the gaps between adjacent segments, with the painted outer surface of the segments, which may result in the paint being scratched because of the relative movement of the fabric. Moreover, at relatively high speeds annoying flapping noises may be produced.
The present invention is addressed to the problem of placing the inside roof lining of a vehicle segmental roof under tension in the open position in a simple manner.
According to the present invention, this problem has been solved by providing that the tensioning element is fastened on the underside of the segment, on that side of the inside roof lining which faces away from the vehicle interior, the tensioning element has a tensioning clip which, in the open position of the segment, acts upon the inside roof lining.
According to the present invention, the tensioning element is fastened on the underside of a segment, between the segment and inside roof lining, so that essentially no additional installation space is needed for the tensioning element. The tensioning element has a tensioning clip which, at least in the open position of the segments, acts upon the inside roof lining and ensures the tensioning of the inside roof lining. The tensioning clip is implemented as a simple, mechanical component which executes just a slight relative movement, if any at all, with respect to the associated segment during the transfer from the closed position into the open position. As a result, no complicated and error-prone kinematics are required for producing the tensioning of the fabric. The entire tensioning element including the tensioning clip can be a single-piece component which is constructed homogeneously and consists of only one material, thereby simplifying the production and assembly.
In an expedient embodiment, the tensioning clip grips under an end side, as seen in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, of that segment to which the tensioning clip is fastened. This has the advantage that the tensioning clip can, in addition to its tensioning function, be used as a gutter by the free end section of the tensioning clip advantageously being bent upward. Consequently, in the open position, water penetrating into the gap between adjacent segments is collected by the tensioning clip and conducted away to the side of the roof.
That section of the tensioning clip which expediently protrudes over the segment in the longitudinal direction also has the advantage that the reduction, obtained in the closed position, in the distance between adjacent segments can be compensated for via the tensioning clip. As a result, the web of the fabric roof lining between adjacent segments can be sized such that it is at least the same length in the open position as in the closed position. This ensures that the inside roof lining is tensioned in the open position of the roof, as a result of which flapping of the fabric is reliably avoided and there is also no risk of the inside roof lining coming into contact with the scratch-prone, painted outer surface of the segments. In a currently preferred design, the fabric web is slightly stretched in the open position to achieve a taut tensioning of the fabric. The extension of the fabric web can be achieved in a simple manner by a correspondingly extended implementation of the tensioning clip. This design is particularly suitable for stretchable, elastic types of fabric which contract again to the original size when the vehicle roof is closed, in order to ensure that the fabric is also sufficiently tensioned in the closed position and the inside roof lining bears smoothly against the underside of the segments.
The tensioning clip advantageously encloses an angle, which in particular is not greater than 10xc2x0, with the plane of the inside roof lining in the closed position of the segmental roof. This ensures that in the open position, the angular position of the segments is at least partially compensated for by the angular section of the tensioning element, so that this section of the tensioning element runs approximately horizontally. This has the advantage that, when the tensioning clip is used as a gutter, the free end section of the tensioning clip remains comparatively far upward, whereby even relatively large amounts of water can be contained without the risk of overflowing.
The tensioning clip is preferably elastic, so that during the transfer from the closed position into the open position, during which the inside roof lining comes into contact with the tensioning clip, a continuously increasing tensioning force is built up in the inside roof lining. As a result, suddenly occurring concentrations of tension can be avoided.